Back in the “before” when Pemberton had no sidewalks, seed potatoes were pretty much the only claim to fame of the place you landed if you accidentally drove past Whistler. The alpine around Pemberton was the secret playground of salt-of-the-earth farm families who punched trails straight up mountainsides in order to beat the summer heat.

The old Tenquille Lake trail, where the descendants of pioneering farm families have constructed an alpine cabin, to continue the tradition of taking high-summer refuge in the hills.

(Before that, the Lil’wat are the rightful storytellers to speak of what alpine adventures were to be had.)

At least, that’s how former pro skier and mountain man, Johnny “Foon” Chilton envisions the Mt Currie Trail, a steep 8km climb for intermediate to advanced hikers. “The vision is to create an access to the alpine around Currie and above Pemberton. We don’t have enough of that.”

Having routed the trail, secured permission from the provincial government, and found kickstarter funding from the regional district and outdoor retailer MEC, local trail-builders have completed the first section of the trail. This fall, the push is on to get to “The Lookout” where a beautiful view down on Pemberton is reward for about 2 hours of straight-up hiking.

2014 will see the push to get the trail through to the alpine. Says Chilton, “The full vision is to bust a grade V trail through to the alpine then spend a few years eventually upgrading to a grade III trail.”

Even upgraded, the hike will be strenuous. Mt Currie is, after all, a wild mountain. At 8517 feet (or 2596 metres) high, the sheer vertical relief of Currie (that is, the difference in height between the bottom and top) is over two-thirds that of Mt Everest, and amongst the highest in the world.)

And no gondola will ever offer a shortcut. This will be one summit that has to be earned.

Until the trail is through, I’d argue that the top 3 hiker’s hikes in Pemberton are the vertical scoots up Wedgemount Lake, Tenquille and Joffre. Not built for dilettantes, debutantes or dabblers, these trails will get you into the alpine under your own steam.

(Save them for the summer, as the snowline is already coming down, and use them as training for the Mt Currie Epic. And always remember the cardinal rule of alpine adventuring, even on a sunny afternoon jaunt from your car… Respect the Mountains. As our local Search and Rescue boss says, “There are a myriad of ways people get into trouble here.”)

That said, the hard-core will be rewarded by grueling but spectacular outings up to an iridescent alpine lake and back down to aching knees and a well-earned thirst.

Tent platform doubling as a nap station on the hike up Wedge Mountain.

And if “tough” isn’t a word you answer to, check out our Best Family Friendly Hikes in Pemberton. Or get your tickets to the Pemberton Music Festival and enjoy Mt Currie’s viewspiration with a soundtrack instead of a sweat-track. No one will judge you. It is, after all, our favourite view, too.

The always instagrammable Mt Currie.

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Lisa Richardson
Lapsed lawyer, aspiring yogi, freelance writer and community cheerleader, Lisa Richardson knew she'd found her happy place in Pemberton, BC, when a cowboy rode past and asked "which way to the beach?" Spotlighting local eccentricity for 5 years as CBC's community reporter, Richardson digs deep into mountain culture. She helps mountain lifestyle brands articulate their stories, juggles magazine deadlines, curates the hyperlocal websites ChoosePemberton.com and TheWellnessAlmanac.com, gives social media training to the keen and the curious, and blows off steam in her vertically-blessed backyard, skiing, mountain-biking and rock-climbing up and down the Sea to Sky corridor.

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